Door latch with rotatable bolt



C. H. LEE

DOOR LATCH WITH ROTATABLE BOLT Nov. 6, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril. 20, 1960 IN VEN T OR. Cfiaz/es A [ee BY A TTURNEY Nov. 6, 1962 c.H. LEE

DOOR LATCH WITH ROTATABLE BOLT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 20, 1960 I-lsl hE 5i in IN VEN TOR. (kw/a Ar fee BY I Patented Nov. 6, 19623,062,576 DOOR LATQH WHTH RGTATABLE BOLT Charles H. Lee, Taylor, Mich,assignor to General M- tors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation ofDelaware Filed Apr. 20, B60, Ser. No. 23,558 4 Claims. (Cl. 292-28tl)This invention relates to a door latch, and more particularly to arotatable bolt door latch for an automobile.

One feature of the invention is that it provides an improved door latch.Another feature of the invention is that it provides an automobile doorlatch having a novel construction and arrangement of the outside latchactuating means and locking means. A further feature of the invention isthat the door latch includes an outside push button actuating leverwhich, in addition to its normal function as an unlatching lever, alsoserves as an intermittent or locking lever. Still a further feature ofthe invention is that the latch includes an outside push buttonactuating lever which is mounted for movement in two planes which aretransverse to each other; yet another feature of the invention is thatthe outside push button actuating lever is mounted on the latch framefor swinging movement in a first plane wherein the lever is adapted toswing the detent out of engagement with the latching means, and in asecond plane transverse to the first plane wherein said lever isuncoupled from the detent to lock the door, the mounting means for thepush button lever including a pivot lever swingably mounted on the framecoaxially with the detent of the latch, and the push button lever beingmounted on the pivot lever for swinging movement about an axistransverse to the axis of the pivot lever; and another feature of theinvention is that it provide a novel arrangement of the undogging leverof the latch.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is fragmentary side elevational view of an automobile havingthe improved latch mounted in the front door;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged section taken through a portion of theautomobile door inside the door outer panel showing the latch in sideelevation with the parts in unlocked position;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to a portion of FIGURE 2 showing the parts inlocked position;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical transverse section through a portion ofthe automobile door taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a detail section taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 6 is a detail section taken along the line 66 of FIGURE 3.

Most modern automobiles are provided with door latches in which lockingis accomplished by uncoupling two members of the latch so that, with theparts in locked position, the outside push button merely free wheelswhen actuated. It is often considered preferable to provide a latch withthis free wheeling type of operation rather than a blocking type ofoperation in order to prevent the latch from being damaged should alever or other tool be used to exert exessive force on the outside pushbutton in an unauthorized attempt to open the door.

Free wheeling type latches are not per se and have been used for manyyears in many of the automobiles manufactured by the assignee of hisapplication. In known latches of this type there is usually a linkmember, the function of which is to couple the outside actuating meansto the detent which holds the bolt against rotation.

When the door is unlocked and the outside push button is actuated, theforce exerted on the push button is transmitted through a chain of latchparts including this so-called intermittent link to move the detent outof holding engagement with the bolt. Since the bolt is now freelyrotatable the door may be opened. In order to lock the door, theintermittent link is moved out of coupled relation with the detent sothat the outside push button and the latch parts to which it isconnected merely free wheel when the push button is depressed.

In the latch disclosed and claimed in this application there is noseparate intermittent link. Instead, the push button lever upon whichthe outside push button operates is mounted for movement in two planes.When swung in a first plane upon depression of the outside push button,the push button lever swings the detent out of holding engagement withthe bolt; but when swung in a second plane transverse to said firstplane, the push button lever is uncoupled from the detent so that itfree wheels when the push button is depressed. The novel constructionthrough which this arrangement is achieved includes a pivot lever whichis swingably mounted on the frame, preferably coaxially with the detent,and the push button lever is mounted on the pivot lever for swingingmovement about an axis parallel to the axis of the pivot lever. Theconstruction above described also permits use of a novel undogging leverarrangement, the function of which is to shift the latch parts fromlocked position to unlocked position whenever the detent is moved torelease the bolt. This occurs when the door is locked against outsideoperation but is opened from the inside, and it also occurs when thedoor is locked while it is open and subsequently is closed unless theoperator makes a conscious effort to override the undogging operationand locks the door without a key.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the reference character10 designates an automobile having a body 12, a front door 14, a bodycenter pillar 16 and a rear door 13. The door latch which is the subjectof this invention is mounted in the front door 14 and is designatedgenerally as 20. The front door 14, which is hingedly mounted at itsfront edge in conventional manner (not shown) on the automobile body,mounts the latch 20 on its rear jamb face so that the latch bolt willengage a conventional striker (now shown) which is mounted on the centerbody pillar 16. A suitable striker and the manner in which it engagesthe latch bolt are shown and described in detail in the patents toCockburn et al. 2,871,049 and Van Voorhees 2,835,526, to which referencemay be had if desired.

In order to open the door from outside the automobile, there is agripping handle 22 which is fixedly mounted on the outer panel of thedoor and which carries a slidable push button assembly including a pushbutton 24 and a push rod 26. The door may be locked from outside theautomobile by a conventional key cylinder device 28. In order to openthe door from inside the automobile, there is a conventional turn handle30 mounted on the inner pannel of the door at a location remote from thedoor latch and connected to the latch by a remote rod 32. Locking isaccomplished from the inside through a garnish molding button 34 whichis connected to the door latch through a chain of operating elementsincluding a bell crank 36 mounted inside the door, a rod 38 extendingfrom the bell crank 36 to a second bell crank 4t and a rod 42 extendingfrom the bell crank 40 to the latch.

The latch 20, which is shown in detail in FIGURES 2-6, includes a framehaving a body portion 44a which lies against the inner surface of thejamb face of the door 14 and is secured thereto by a plurality of bolts46. A right angular flange portion of the frame 44b lies parallel to theinner panel of the door.

The latching means for holding the door closed includes a toothed geartype bolt 48 (FIGURE 4) which is rotatably mounted in a bolt housingframe extension 440 (FIGURE 2) on a bolt shaft 56 rotatably journaledbetween the outer wall of the bolt housing 440 and a frame extension44d. The bolt 48 is rigidly mounted on the shaft 50, and adjacent theinner surface of the frame body 44a there is a toothed ratchet member 52which also is rigidly mounted on the shaft so that the bolt 48 andratchet 55 which comprises the latching means, are in effect integral.

The latching means is held against rotation in a dooropening directionby a detent designated generally as 54- which is pivotally mounted onthe flange portion 44b of the latch frame by means of a mounting stud56. As shown in FIGURE 4, the detent has a foot 58 which normallyengages the ratchet 52 to hold the latching means against rotation in adoor-opening direction. The detent 54 has an arm 60 which extendsinwardly from the pivot stud 56 for engagement by an inside actuator orremote control lever, later to be described, and an upstanding arm 62 ofthe detent projects upwardly from the pivot stud 56 and terminates in aright angle flange 64.

A pivot lever designated generally as 66 is swingably mounted on thestud 56 which, as shown in FIGURE 5, extends across the latch frame andhas one end journaled in a bent bracket portion 44 of the frame. Thepivot lever 66 is U-shaped in transverse section, having walls 66a and66b which are journaled on the stud 56 and which are joined by a webportion 66c from which a lateral arm 66d projects. A spring 68 isconnected between the arm 66d and the frame to bias the pivot lever in acounterclockwise direction as the parts appear in FIGURE 4, urging theupper end of the lever outwardly. A push button lever 74) is pivoted onthe web portion 660 of the pivot lever by means of a rivet 72, the axisof which is transverse to the axis of the stud 56, and an overcenterspring '74- is connected between the pivot lever 66 and a push buttonlever to yieldably hold the push button lever in an unlocked or lockedposition, as selected, relative to the pivot lever. FIGURE 2 shows theunlocked position of the parts and FIGURE 3 shows the locked positionthereof.

Near its upper end the push button lever 70 is formed at one side with apickup flange 76. With the parts in unlocked position the flange 64 ofthe detent lies in the path of swinging movement of the pickup tab 76when the pivot lever and push button lever are swung upon depression ofthe push button 24. However, when the push button lever is shiftedrelative to the pivot lever to the locked position of FIGURE 3, theflange 64 is out of the path of swinging movement of the pickup tab 76,and upon depression of the push button 24 the push button lever 70merely free wheels and does not move the detent.

The construction above described eliminates a separate intermittent linkdevice which has been conventionally used in vehicle door latcheswherein parts are uncoupled in order to lock the door. The push buttonlever is mounted on the pivot lever to swing relative to the pivot leverin a plane parallel with the axis of pivotal mounting of the pivotlever, and therefore is swingable in either of two planes which extendtransversely relative to each other.

The push button lever may be shifted between its unlocked and lockedpositions by means of the garnish molding button 34 which, whendepressed, pulls on the rod 42 and shifts the push button lever relativeto the pivot lever from the unlocked position of FIGURE 2 to the lockedposition of FIGURE 3. From the outside of the automobile, turning aproper key in the conventional key cylinder 28 will also shift the pushbutton lever since the pawl of the key cylinder enters a slot 78 in thepush button lever. Pulling up on the garnish molding button or turningthe key in the opposite direction will, of course, shift the push buttonlever back to its unlocked position.

The remote connecting rod .32 is connected to the lower end of a remotelever 36 which is pivotally mounted on the frame at 82. The remote leveris formed as a bell crank, having an arm 84 which overlies the detentarm 60 so that when the remote handle 30 is turned to pull on the rod 32and swing the remote lever in a counterclockwise direction as the partsappear in FIGURES 2 and 3, the arm 84 in its downward movement will pickup the detent arm 6t} and move the detent foot 53 out of engagement withthe ratchet 52.

The door latch includes the features of remote undogging, automaticundogging and keyless locking. By the term remote undogging it i meantthat when the latch is locked against outside operation and is openedfrom the inside the latch parts will be shifted to unlocked position. Bythe term automatic undogging it is meant that if the latch is lockedwhile the door is open, slamming the door will shift the parts back tounlocked position. However, if the operator so desires he may accomplishkeyless locking by a conscious operation while the door is being closed.

The undogging functions are achieved through movement of the detentwhich swings when the door is opened from the inside and which alsoswings whenever the door is slammed shut. When the door is closed theteeth of the bolt 48 ride over complementary teeth of the striker in themanner disclosed in Patents 2,871,049 and 2,835,526, the detent footcamming over the sloping backside of the teeth of the ratchet 52. Anundogging lever 86 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a stud88 which projects from a mounting bracket 90 that is bent from the latchframe. One arm 92 of the undogging lever 86 is formed with a bent pickuptab 94 which, as shown best in FIGURE 6, abuts the inner side of theflange 64 on the detent. The other arm of the undogging lever 86 isformed as a hook having an undogging end 96 which lies adjacent the edgeof the push button lever 70 at a location above the pivot stud 72.Whenever the detent swings, it picks up the undogging lever and causesis to swing in a clockwise direction as the parts appear in FIGURE 6 sothat the undogging surface 96 will kick the push button lever 70 tounlocked position in the event the lever is located in locked positionat this time. A spring 98 which is coiled around the stud 88 has one endhooked into the frame bracket 96} and the other end bearing against thepickup tab 94 on the undogging lever so that the spring 98 biases theundogging lever into constant engagement with the detent and also biasesthe detent to its normal latching position illustrated in FIGURE 4.

In the event the operator Wishes to lock the door without a key, he canoverride the automatic undogging function when the door is closed bydepressing the outside push button 24 to swing the pivot lever 66 andthe push button lever 76 to a position where the push button lever isout of the path of movement of the undogging surface 96 of the undogginglever. With the parts in this position, the undogging lever merely freewheels when it is moved upon swing movement of the detent.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it iscapable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the constructionand arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A door latch of the character described, including: a frame; latchingmeans rotatably mounted on said frame, comprising a bolt and a ratchetmember rigid with the bolt and rotatable therewith; a detent pivotallymounted on the frame and having a foot engageable with said ratchet forblocking rotation of the latching means in one direction; outsideactuating means for swinging said detent foot out of engagement withsaid ratchet comprising a push button lever adapted to have directengagement with said detent and a push button operator adapted to havedirect engagement with said lever; means for mounting said push buttonlever on said frame for swinging movement in a first plane betweenoperative and operated positions and in a second plane transverse tosaid first plane between unlocked position wherein said lever is coupledto said detent and locked position wherein said lever is uncoupled fromsaid detent, movement of said lever in said first plane from operativeposition to operated position causing movement of said detent when saidlever is in unlocked position, said last mentioned means comprising apivot lever pivotally mounted on said frame coaxially with said detent,the push button lever being mounted on said pivot lever for swingingmovement relative to said pivot lever about an axis transverse to theaxis of said pivot lever; inside actuating means comprising a leverpivotally mounted on the frame and movable to swing said detent foot outof engagement with said ratchet; and an undogging lever pivotallymounted on said frame and having a part lying in the path of swingingmovement of said detent and another part lying adjacent said push buttonlever when said push button lever is in uncoupled position, saidundogging lever swinging response to movement of said detent to cam thepush button lever into coupled relation with the detent.

2. A door latch of the character described, including: a frame; latchingmeans rotatably mounted on said frame, comprising a bolt and a ratchetmember rigid with the bolt and rotatable therewith; a detent pivotallymounted on the frame and having a foot engageable with said ratchet forblocking rotation of the latching means in one direc tion; outsideactuating means for swinging said detent foot out of engagement withsaid ratchet comprising a push button lever adapted to have directengagement with said detent and a push button operator adapted to havedirect engagement with said lever; means for mounting said push buttonlever on said frame for swinging movement in two planes that aretransverse relative to each other, said mounting means comprising apivot lever swingably mounted on said frame, said push button leverbeing mounted on said pivot lever for pivotal movement relative to thepivot lever in a plane parallel to the axis of said pivot lever; andinside actuating means for moving said detent foot out of engagementwith said ratchet.

3. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 2, wherein said pivotlever is mounted on said frame coaxially with said detent.

4. A door latch of the character described, including: a frame; latchingmeans rotatably mounted on said frame, comprising a bolt and a ratchetmember rigid with the bolt and rotatable therewith; a detent pivotallymounted on the frame and having a foot engageable with said ratchet forblocking rotation of the latching means in one direction; outsideactuating means for moving said detent foot out of engagement with saidratchet comprising a push button lever adapted to have direct engagementwith said detent and a push button operator adapted to have engagementwith said lever; and means for mounting said push button lever on saidframe for swinging movement in a first plane between operative andoperated positions and in a second plane transverse to said first planebe tween unlocked position wherein said lever is coupled to said detentand locked position wherein said lever is uncoupled from said detent,movement of said lever in said first plane from operative position tooperated position causing movement of said detent when said lever is inunlocked position, said mounting means comprising a pivot leverswingably mounted on said frame coaxially with said detent, the pushbutton lever being mounted on the pivot lever for swinging movementrelative to said pivot lever about an axis transverse to the axis ofsaid push button lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS UNITEDSTATESPATENT. OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,062,576November 6, 1962 Charles H. Lee

in the above numbered petthat error appears ters Patent should read asIt is hereby certified that the said Let ent requiring correction andcorrectedbelow.

"not" insert novel column 5, line 23,

Column 1, line- 66, after column 4, line 42, for "is" read it after"swinging" insert in Signed and sealed this 23rd day of April 1963.

(SEAL) Attest: DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents ERNEST w. SWIDERAttesting Officer

